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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Post # 52 - ERECTING A HEDGE of PROTECTION

“Have You not made a hedge (wall) about him and his
house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his
hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand
now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Job
1:10-11

“Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with
thorns, and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; and she will seek
them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first
husband, for it was better for me then than now!’” Hosea 2:6–7

Here are two different hedges or walls of
protection from the Old Testament that God placed around people He wanted to
guard and defend. For Job the hedge protected him, his family, and all of their
possessions from misfortune, evil, and against the attacks of Satan and his
helpers. In the Hosea passage, the hedge of thorns restricted sinful
temptations from Gomer because she had the tendency to pursue other lovers. In
Job’s case the barrier kept the enemy out, while for Gomer she was hedged in.

As it was then, so it is now. We are living in the
midst of a raging spiritual warfare where God’s arch enemy is seeking to
prevent the Kingdom of God from advancing by attacking His people with
calamity, misfortune, temptation, destruction, conflict, immorality, and
whatever other tactics he and his demonic helpers devise.

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission
to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail
…” Luke 22:31-32a

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

In the western world of today, hedges tend to be
shrubbery that either decorates the exterior of a home or highlights the border
of one’s property. But in the Bible, thick hedges of thorns were frequently
used to keep wild animals away from livestock or to protect a home. In John
10:1 when Jesus spoke of being the door to the sheepfold, He was alluding to being
the only way in or out of a hedged sheep pen that was commonly used by
shepherds to protect their flocks from wolfs and other predators.

Ephesians 6 makes clear that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the
spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
This chapter goes on to exhort us to take
up the full armor of God, so that we
will be able to resist in the evil day.

When Jesus wrestled with Satan after His forty day
fast we are told that angels came to Him and took care of Him (Matthew 4:11 J.B. Phillips
N.T.). Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those
who will inherit salvation. Psalm 34:7 indicates that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues
them. The Hebrew word for encamp could easily be translated surrounds. And in Acts 5:19 it was an angel of the Lord who opened the gates of the prison allowing
the Apostles to escape.

Interceding before God and asking him to construct
and maintain a hedge or wall of protection has proven to be a very effective in
this battle against Lucifer and his fallen angels. We can ask God to erect a shielding wall composed of His holy
angels. After taking this initial step we can ask Him, daily if possible, to
maintain this hedge. It’s essential to be specific in asking God to send His
holy angels for your protection because Satan himself is a fallen angel as are
the demons who are under his authority. (See Matthew 25:41).

Guillermo and Andrea are two laborers I met at a
conference in Santiago, Chile. Several weeks after the conference they wrote
asking prayer and counsel because they were filled with fear and deep anguish
due to the presence of robbers and other evil people in their neighborhood. I
wrote them back suggesting that they first go room to room in their house,
commanding in the name of Jesus Christ that any demonic spirits leave the
premises. They anointed the doors and windows as possible entry points with oil
in the sign of the cross. Then I encouraged them to pray and erect a hedge of
protection made up of God’s holy angels to protect each person in their family,
their home, and their possessions from evil and the attacks of the enemy. I
added them to my prayer list as did others who had attended the conference.

About a week later, I wrote and asked Guillermo how
it was going. He said that the fear and anxiety about robbers and calamity was
completely gone ever since they dedicated their house to the Lord and prayed
and erected the hedge of protection.

Here’s some specific instruction and sample prayers
you can adapt to your situation.

First cleanse your home and dedicate it to the
Lord. Cleansing your home is going room to room, top to bottom, and commanding
in Jesus’ name that any and all demonic spirits both original (who gained
access through the builder or former dwellers in your home) and subsequent (who
may have gained access since you moved into the house). Oil is a symbol of the
Holy Spirit. After you have cleansed a room it’s a good idea to anoint the
doors and windows with oil symbolically with the sign of the cross. Whoever is
in spiritual authority over the home and family (usually the husband) needs to pray
the prayers of authority over the principle entrances to the home (front and
back door and also sliding doors).

Then pray the hedge of protection into place. “In
the powerful name of the True Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth I want to pray and
ask You to send Your Holy Angels to construct Your hedge of protection around
me, my spouse, my children (name each one), our finances, the tasks we work on,
and our possessions … against all of the fiery attacks of the enemy.” I like to
visualize the property lines of our home as the place where the hedge is in
place. Our house has a fence in the backyard, hedges, and the sidewalk in
front. After you’ve constructed the hedge, you can pray daily / regularly for
God to maintain the hedge.

To be even more thorough you can also pray in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask that warrior angels sent by the one true
God to be placed to stand guard at any holes or access points that might be in
the hedge.

Holes in the hedge can be caused by yet to be dealt
with sin, trauma or wounding in the lives of the people who dwell in your home.
Access points could be your TV service, Internet, cell phones, home phone or
other communication devices you have in your home.

If you have neighbors over or visits by salesmen,
neighbors, relatives, babysitters, or people who work on your home (painters,
plumbers, carpenters, etc.) you can exercise the authority of Christ and in His
powerful name command any free, unbound, or wandering spirits that may have
gained access through them to now leave and get out beyond the hedge of
protection.

Other creative options might be to read and pray
through Psalm 91 during the initial cleansing and dedication of your home.
Praying through Ephesians 6:10-18 and putting on the whole armor of God is also
a good action step.

8 comments:

Dear Rusty,In God's Sovereignty, today I clicked on your link at the bottom of the e-mail you sent yesterday (something I have not yet done!). I just returned from a women's retreat with the German Navigators where the topic was Being Still and listening to God. On Sat night I shared how Psalm 16:6 had spoken to me. "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." I shared that I prayed a wall of protection around our personal property lines, claiming this area for Jesus and rebuking any evil spirits who may want to attack. One participant was touched by this and wanted to know more. This morning I was able to send her this link, and I think many of her questions can be answered!Thanks for posting. I look forward to reading your blog.Melissa Montalbine in France

I am trusting in the hedge of thorns around my husband right now and pray it multiple times daily. I am standing in the gap for my marriage and have been for the last 7 months. I pray that God's will be done. Also, this is very interesting because my son and daughter-in-law just bought a house that has been vacant for several years and the former owner and builder committed suicide in the den of the house. I told my daughter-in-law that she could ask her Baptist minister to dedicate and ask for blessings on the house. What is the best advice to give them to completely resolve any worries they have about that terrible incident? In fact my daughter in law was told by the real estate broker that the man committed suicide outside which made her more comfortable...however, that was not the truth.Thanks,Rhonda in Augusta, GA

Here's my best advice to answer your question: I would gather together a team of 3 or 4 people (with your son and his wife) who have experience in house cleansings / praying up a hedge of protection, and spiritual warfare. If one or two people could have the gift of discerning of spirits and/or prophecy that would be the best.

First, I'd pray together in the living room expressing the desire that the home be dedicated to God's service and that any demonic spirits / evil presence that might have gained access would have to leave. I'd also ask God to reveal to the team anything that would aid in the house cleansing process.

Then I'd go through the house room by room asking first if there's anything He wanted to reveal to us in each room. Then I would exercise the authority of Christ commanding any and all evil spirits to leave and go where Jesus would send them and never return and anointing the windows (symbolic of a place of entrance) with oil with the sign of the cross to seal in each room.

I would have the husband (as the head of the home) pray over the front and rear doors of the home and anoint them with oil.

We did something similar to this in a home where a woman lived who had tried to commit suicide a day after she was released from the hospital. We were going through the home room by room. It was getting pretty routine until we entered the master bedroom. One of my coworkers (Terri) took an odd deep breath as we walked into the bedroom. I asked, "Lord Jesus, what is Terri feeling in this room?" Without hesitation, Terri said "Hopelessness!" I asked the woman who had tried to commit suicide if she had ever felt "hopelessness" in this room. She said, "That's all I've ever felt here. This is where I tried to take my life." We commanded the spirit of hopelessness to leave and never return in Jesus' name.

The woman also went through a healing prayer process of about six months. To my knowledge, the woman never struggled again with suicidal thoughts. Later she married and is doing well in life.

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